Agenda
Retail Week’s General Counsel is the industry’s leading networking event for legal leaders to share how they’re approaching the seismic transformations in retail. Check out the agenda below.
Wednesday 4th June 2025
What are the biggest economic shifts headed our way, and what do they mean for legal teams?
In this exclusive keynote presentation, leading economist Simon French will explore the biggest challenges facing the sector, equipping GCs with the knowledge to support their businesses to manage risk, balance investment, and navigate regulatory complexity in today’s turbulent landscape.
With data driven insight, and tangible real-world examples, this session will help you connect the dots between the macro- and microeconomic headlines and your day-to-day legal priorities.
As economic pressures tighten budgets, legal teams are being forced to adapt their operations as they strive to deliver the same high value while controlling costs. For legal leaders, the challenge is striking the right balance between efficiency and effectiveness.
We’ll hear how the UK’s foremost GCs are helping their teams to maximise impact with limited resources.
Key topics will include:
- The technologies and tools helping retail legal teams to operate more efficiently
- How teams are working collaboratively with third parties to support cost management
- Tips for legal teams to best communicate their value and secure buy-in for investment from their businesses
When it comes to sustainability strategy, legal teams are stepping into a transformative role. In this session, we explore how GCs are actively driving innovation and collaboration to embed sustainability across retail operations.
Key themes will include:
- The influence of horizon scanning and comprehension on board-level decision making
- How legal frameworks can be used to promote sustainable innovation and foster ethical practices throughout the business
- How ethical legal leaders can support cross-functional collaboration, transparency and accountability
- The biggest regulatory changes on the horizon
2025 is the year to throw out any dated stereotypes of the legal function.
No longer just advisers for compliance and contracts, legal teams are increasingly integral players in shaping business strategy, providing guidance on a growing, broad and impactful range of business matters.
In turn, the doors to progression continue to open for legal leaders, leading to higher job satisfaction and increased retention.
In this session, we explore:
- How legal leaders are playing crucial roles in shaping corporate strategy at board level and what this means for retaining top legal talent
- Real-world case studies from retail legal teams influencing cross-functional initiatives, from supply chain sustainability to customer loyalty programmes
- Strategies to elevate the visibility and influence of the legal function across retail organisations
Brexit reshaped the regulatory landscape for cross-border trade, bringing new challenges and complexities for UK retailers.
From diverging product standards to shifting trade agreements, legal leaders must now support their businesses to navigate an increasingly intricate web to protect themselves from disruption.
Here, we explore how legal teams are adapting to post-Brexit realities while supporting their businesses to thrive in a changeable global market.
We will explore:
- What are the most pressing compliance challenges for retailers post-Brexit and how are they tackling them?
- How to ensure alignment across global operations and supply chains while navigating evolving regulations
- Case studies from leading retailers capitalising on global trade opportunities
Speakers:
- Chris Saunders, General Counsel, KP Snacks
From streamlining operations to hyper-personalising customer experiences, third-party partnerships are driving retail innovation. But the more links in the chain, the greater the risk it could break, leading to potential cybersecurity breaches.
Half of businesses faced a cyber breach in the last 12 months, according to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, making a legal team’s prevention and response strategy more vital than ever.
In this session, we’ll examine how legal leaders can support retailers in addressing the vulnerabilities that come with third-party partnerships and how to manage the fallout of incidents.
We will explore:
- Where partnerships can go wrong, from non-compliance to data breaches, and how to mitigate the risks
- How to build a robust legal framework that protects the company without inhibiting innovation
- Guidance on creating robust cybersecurity policies and employee training programmes when it comes to adopting third- party tech
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How legal can work cross-collaboratively to manage reputational risk and stakeholder communications during a cyber event
- Navigating the Green Path – practical steps to meet new sustainability obligations
- Keeping it real: insights to protect your customers and brand in the age of GenAI
More roundtable topics will be announced soon!
There's a lot of noise around AI, but the last 12 months have seen a shift: from hype to reality. Retailers are implementing AI at speed, and as a result it’s crossing many GC's desks on a daily basis.
Boards are keen to realise AI’s cost saving potential, tech teams are keen to embrace its cutting-edge possibilities, and legal teams are left in the middle trying find a path to it safe and responsible use.
In this session, TLT’s AI team and a senior lawyer from a leading retailer will provide practical insights on:
- How to implement a streamlined process for assessing the legal considerations for AI tools and proposed use cases
- How to lay the foundations for successful AI governance
- How to establish realistic and workable guardrails for using AI
- Industry insights on AI in practice
As budgets shrink and workloads increase, retail legal professionals are facing greater pressure than ever, leading to a higher risk of burnout and poor wellbeing. This session will focus on actionable strategies to build resilience within legal teams, helping leaders manage stress, maintain balance and create a culture of support.
Discover how to foster open conversations around workplace stress, introduce impactful wellbeing initiatives and lead by example to create a healthier, more sustainable work environment.
Interested in sponsoring?
Our full day conference provides an ideal platform for you to position your brand as a trusted partner to the retail industry and gives you access to General Counsels and in-house Legal Directors across the community.